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Confession: a large part of the reason I learned French in the first place is because singing along to these songs is just so darn fun. From the yé-yé girls to the stylish rockers, some of the best pop music came out of France in the 1960s. So put on some blue and red or your prettiest pastels, ingest a box of macarons, and pretend you are in a Sofia Coppola commercial or a Godard movie.

I’m freaking out! I’ve been really into France Gall lately … which is weird, because I usually listen to riot grrrl and folk punk. The dance in the Cet air-là video is so great:

thefondestFebruary 24th, 201211:34 PM

Angry girl covers in French are the best. See Thee Headcoatees’ “Ca plane pour moi” for a prime example.

ThegirlwiththehatFebruary 24th, 201211:41 PM

This is an awesome playlist!! Just out of curiosity have you guys ever Carla Bruni, or La couer de Pirate (they’re my favorite french artists) :)

missblackFebruary 25th, 20121:22 AM

OMG Coeur de Pirate is the best!!
(I found her via Canadian TV, hahah.)

MiareleFebruary 25th, 20121:26 AM

Carla Bruni! I love that woman. Singing, acting, and being the First Lady of France? She made it like no big deal. Also, “Quelqu’un m’a dit” is great.

nataliehernFebruary 24th, 201211:48 PM

my favorite french song is Rue St Vincent, it’s so beautiful.

BugFebruary 24th, 201211:49 PM

Shameless self-promotion… But I do an online radio show with all Spanish and French language indie pop. It’s at 10am-12pm EST every Friday!
Go to WNYU.org to listen!
(and if you’re ever in need of a Spanish/French playlist, I got ya covered)

GagaMcQueenFebruary 24th, 201211:50 PM

Yay! First time I actually know more than a few songs on a Rookie playlist! I feel so cool. :)

ThegirlwiththehatFebruary 24th, 201211:50 PM

Oops i think la coeur de pirate is fremch canadian :)

norienoireFebruary 24th, 201211:51 PM

Words can not describe my love for France Gall. Arcade Fire did a killer cover with LCD Soundsystem of Poupee de Cire Poupee de Son that is just as good as the original if not better.

Anna FitzpatrickFebruary 25th, 20123:18 PM

I love that cover! Arcade Fire is one of my favourite bands.

(Here’s the link, in case anybody wants to hear it: )

MoonshoesFebruary 24th, 201211:54 PM

Sylvie Vartan is my favorite :) so happy to know french right now!

emileFebruary 25th, 201212:15 AM

aw, no jacqueline taïeb? still, brilliant playlist. there is a special place in my heart for old-school french pop. thank you, Rookie! ♥

February 25th, 201212:24 AM

I guess they’re for little kids but I like Ilona Mitrecey songs a lot.

This is no means a definitive list, just a few of my favourites from the vast number of songs out there. I’d love to hear about other people’s picks!

Naomi MorrisFebruary 25th, 20124:16 AM

YES ANNA!!!

Destiny-HopeFebruary 25th, 20125:57 AM

Wow, french songs !
I love all the songs of your list.
Do you know Sheila ? She’s another singer of the 1960’s. I love her songs (L’école est finie, Papa t’es plus dans l’coup, L’heure de la sortie…
And there was a girl band called Les Parisiennes, I like them too.

Les yé-yé c’était trop génial !

Anna FitzpatrickFebruary 25th, 20123:23 PM

I might! Aside from the more famous names, most of the French pop singers I know through different compilations (the Ultrachicks series, Pop A Paris, etc. To those looking to get into more French music, these cds are good places to start and might be available at the library – that’s where I tend to get them!). Anyway, what I’m getting at is, I tend to know just a few songs from a lot of these artists. I’ll make sure to check her out though, thanks!

rosiesayrelaxFebruary 25th, 20127:05 AM

You know what? I have been intending to get into french music for a loooooong time now (so i can impress my french class with my almost native accent and so on). This playlist is mon sauveur. Kidding, I used google translate… I think I’d better get listening!

ClaudiaFebruary 25th, 20127:35 AM

So nice! I’m in my first year of French in school and it’s fun listening to these songs and picking out words I know. Plus, the songs are so pretty, even if I don’t know what they’re singing most of the time : )

WitchesRaveFebruary 25th, 20127:55 AM

J’adore, only rookie would do something like this!!

I’m half french so i called my mom in and she freaked out cuz she grew up in France in the 60’s and 70’s and used to dance around her room to these songs on the radio in her room!!

suburban grrrlFebruary 25th, 201210:05 AM

I love french pop music! La Fermeture Eclaire by Delphine and Marie Douceur Marie Colere (aka Paint it Black with totally different lyrics) by Marie Laforet are awesome songs.

On a completely unrelated note, and I only mention it because of the french-ness, OSS 117: Lost in Rio is a really funny movie

FlaviaFebruary 25th, 201210:32 AM

Love this!!! I was looking for a song for a uni project and C’est la mode is perfect!

Microbyte1February 25th, 201212:08 PM

j’adore la musique francaise!
d’une québecoise

LittleMoonFebruary 25th, 201212:59 PM

This is perfect!

oscarFebruary 25th, 20121:44 PM

Aw, this is so cute, these songs are from my childhood. I live France (Paris exactly) and I really find adorable how some foreigners are kind of fascinated by french things, mostly music and literature, because I have the same fascination for british stuff.

Anna FitzpatrickFebruary 25th, 20123:14 PM

Jealous of your city!

To be honest the REAL reason I learned French is because I grew up in Ottawa (the capital of Canada, where French is one of the official languages), right near the Quebec border. It’s funny how different France-French and Canadian-French are so different from each other! I thought I had a good grasp on the language but when I went to Paris when I was 16 I had such a hard time communicating!

I totally get what you mean about foreigners obsessing with your countries. There are so many places that I crush on and want to learn everything about, and yet I get confused when my non-Canadian friends say the same things about my own country!

oscarFebruary 27th, 20126:10 AM

I understand what you mean about differences between Canadian/France french, I really like Xavier Dolan’s movies, but I have to watch them with subtitles because french from quebec is too difficult for me.

MoxxFebruary 25th, 20122:02 PM

Trop bien que vous ayez fait une liste avec des chansons françaises!

Anna FitzpatrickFebruary 25th, 20123:25 PM

Et c’est même meilleur que j’ai tant des auditrices!

(pardon my grammar, it’s been a while since I’ve been in a French classroom)

i’m french and i can say that your song selection is perfect! love rookie
kisses from france

KateFebruary 25th, 20126:07 PM

Anna Karina! Je l’adore!

preachypreachFebruary 25th, 20129:04 PM

so cannot wait to listen to this <3

MissKnowItAllFebruary 25th, 201210:46 PM

Where’s Elle Me Dit by Mika?

KamilaFebruary 26th, 201210:42 AM

Oh, Rookie, you give us so much joy.
I’ve become a huge Sylvie Vartan fan after your interview with Elle Fanning, then there was Francoise Hardy’s song in “Moonrise Kingdom” trailer (though it was on Tavi’s blog, not on Rookie, now that I think about it) and now this! My new appreciation for French 60’s music is all thanks to you and I don’t know how could have ever thought I’m complete without it (which is funny, because I’m more of a classic rock kind of girl).

Anyway, thanks so much for being inspiring. Hope I don’t sound like a creep.

This is perfect, like almost all of you other perfect people here I adore french music!

Here’s a song i’ve been listening to all day long, c’est magnifique:

Franny GlassFebruary 27th, 201212:33 AM

One of my favorite french songs to sing along to is the Champs-Elysee by Joe Dassin that is played on the end of the film The Darjeeling Limited! So catchy and cute!

stellarFebruary 27th, 20123:29 PM

“Ohhh, Champs-Elysees…” what i listened to in freshman year in French class ..the teacher i had wanted us to sing along with it!
but she was always doing funny stuff, like suddenly jumping up on the desk to get our attention, as in “Faites Attention, Monique!!” (my selected name in French I)

PetitePrinceFebruary 27th, 20121:46 AM

A comment stating that us, french people are more attracted by -let’s say for example- british indie music made me smile and particularly grabbed my attention.

I’ve spent my hole in Paris, and though I knew a few pop french song, -Laisse tomber les fille is the first on the list- it just seemed too tacky to be given some interest. How much more facinating it was to listen to small bands I couldnt understand a word of what they were saying (because I used to be sooo bad at english) but that had that underground-exotic touch. Even though it meant I would be pissed off because they would not really bother swimming across the channel to give a show -yeah I know the true was probably closer to “they couldn’t afford it”, but sometimes it’s good to blame on other people the fact that you were born 500km too far to be part of that vibe.

So this is what I was thinking of french music in general. There is some great song, but I’m not really interested in, no offense. Then I moved away. To Montreal. And one night I found myself blasting some Brel on my computer. WHAT ??! And I’m actually enjoying it a lot. I had always loved Ne me quitte pas, so why did I wait to be in Canada to listen more song from this amazing singer ? I couldn’t really say, I guess I just wanted to feel french haha.

But anyway it made me realize how stupid my inconscient behaviour was and I’m going to check out this playlist right now

PS: just to give the illusion I’m not talking by myself, try Exactemeny by Vive la fête. It’s recent and Belgian, but its greaat!

cladyFebruary 27th, 20124:02 AM

i think marry you from bruno mars is good. make me feel so….

PashupatiFebruary 27th, 20121:28 PM

You know, before listening to this playlist and others, I would have said the same things as other french people here…
Now what I listen to habitually: Jeanne Chehral (though, definitely some issues with some songs), Bérurier Noir, Bolchoï (oï), Les Patates Rats (ska), Ferrat, Mylène Farmer, Les Rapaces (rap band), Tchad Unpoe (that’s rap too) and hum. I also like Jean-Jacques Goldman, Barbara and Edith Piaf and most french variety, in fact. Even those mentioned here, though I listened mostly to british bands recently.
And, though some people might mock me, I like Superbus. At least the first albums.
I might know other bands, but think these aren’t really french, like the HushPuppies (just verified on Wikipédia).
I don’t like rapper Keny Arkana, because she says a number of things and then go for an interview on M6 or MTV :(, but I still think she is still a good rapper. Old Indochine, too!
I also like this kind of songs, I had to google it but great fun:

PashupatiFebruary 27th, 20121:34 PM

I meant now I really like yéyé, and before wouldn’t have thought that the songs I liked there were yéyé or to listen to, and I forgot to mention Olivia Ruiz. My brain is off for I ate too much sugar, sorry.

gogobionicgirlFebruary 27th, 20122:29 PM

yay Rollergirl! Love that song

StarboarddFebruary 27th, 20122:41 PM

The Parisian girls of the 60s speak to my soul. I’ve had Françoise Hardy on repeat the last couple weeks — great playlist!!

Lilly-BaieFebruary 27th, 20122:45 PM

Yeah Girls, it’s funny to see what french music your listen ! It’s so old but so cool ;)
Now we are Yelle, her clips are very fun and her last cd are really great !
I’m French and I love your style girls, I read your articles and I can practice my english ^^
Good luck for your blog Girls !
Pleins de bisous de la France !

Yelle’s Clip :

mayamayayaMarch 1st, 20125:18 PM

I LOVE YELLE, SHE IS THE BEST

stellarFebruary 27th, 20123:25 PM

francoise hardy…listening to “toutes les garcons et filles de mon age” from a garage-sale-discovered album my mom found (she was always finding quirky stuff for me like that) in my room and daydreaming…brings back great, fun memories

lxmldrtFebruary 27th, 20124:24 PM

PARFAIT!

MiraeFebruary 27th, 20128:05 PM

There should be a Kpop music playlist!

MissKnowItAllMarch 6th, 20129:46 PM

Girls Generation!

PaulatteFebruary 28th, 201210:22 AM

You should listen to this:

Best french song.

cassidyrosieFebruary 28th, 20127:17 PM

thank you so much for making this playlist! i am learning french right now, and i wanted to know some music, but i had no idea where to start, this is great for introducing me to some cool french music.

awesomelikeapossumFebruary 28th, 20128:52 PM

When hearing the first song by France Gall, I couldn’t help but think of Zelda. I thought “Doesn’t this song sound slightly familiar to the song played in Termina Field in The Legend of Zelda:Majora’s Mask?”. I played both songs at once. Indeed I was right. I haven’t played that game for years. Back in the good ol’ days of Nintendo 64 when I was the age of like 6, 7 or 8, something around there. But the Zelda songs have still stuck in my mind since. That’s the power of great music and a great game.

stellarFebruary 29th, 201212:30 AM

now…does anyone know of any Dutch pop music?

mayamayayaMarch 1st, 20125:14 PM

These are so great… Fabienne Delsol’s “vilaines filles mauvais garçons” is great too!

ArdenApril 6th, 20128:38 PM

One of my favorite female French artists is April March. You should really check her out, she’s a badass and so so lovely.

celerysundaeJune 3rd, 201211:38 AM

love ye-ye! <333

AndreaniqueMay 6th, 201312:47 AM

Omg now I can tell my French teacher I did some homework over the weekend, lol. I fell in love with these songs <3